Success factor of implementation of Off-site Construction Techniques (OSCT) in

United States of America (USA): Improvement of product quality and increased

onsite safety performance

In Malaysia, the off-site manufacturing in the construction industry is known as

Industrialized Building System. However, the off-site manufacturing in the
construction industry is described as Off-site Construction Techniques (OSCT) in
United States of America. (Azman M.N.A., et al., 2010). According to Ed.D Lu N. &
Ph.D Bausman D.C. (2009), the research conducted in the United States of America,
the success factors of implementation of OSCT are improvement of product quality and
increased onsite safety performance.

Table 6: GCs perception comparison by market segments (Ed.D Lu N. & Ph.D

Bausman D.C., 2009) & (Lu N., 2007).

Perceptions Residential Commercial Industrial

The use of offsite construction techniques 4.38 4.26 5.57
increases product quality.
The use of offsite construction techniques 4.69 4.66 5.00
increases safety performance.

Table 6 show the comparisons of the perceived benefits and challenges of using
these techniques by General Contractors (GCs) in U.S. residential, commercial, and
industrial construction sectors. The satisfaction level of the respondent is measured
using a 7-point Lickert scale that ranged from 1 (very unsatisfied) to 7 (very satisfied)
(Ed.D Lu N. & Ph.D Bausman D.C., 2009).

In this section, the respondents in GCs group were divided into 3 subgroups by
the companys market segments. The respondents company with more than 50% of
work in residential was treated as the residential sample, 14 of these in this study. The
respondents company with more than 50% of work in the commercial or 118
institutional was considered as the commercial contractor, 43 samples in total. 7
industrial contractors whose work was in industrial segment more than 50% (Lu N.,
2007).
 From the table above, it is indicated that the implementation OSCT in USA have
greatly increase the product quality and safety performance. By comparing between the
residential, commercial and industrial sector, the industrial general contractors believe
that the use of offsite construction techniques had a more favourable impact on product
quality.

High product quality is one of the main success factor of implementation OSTC
at USA. This is because the high quality of component manufacturing offsite is translate
to cost saving (Jackson S.S., 2013). For instead, with high quality control in industrial
manufacturing, the defect of the joints welded can be greatly reduced and hence it can
avoids wasted time in chasing issues during finish work phases. In high controlling the
environment and manufacturing plan by more thoroughly quality testing and
traceability of component, it can enables the problem to be correct before the
component arrives at the worksite. Therefore, the component with high original quality
can save time and money of all parties in term of correction and maintenance issues
afterword.

Furthermore, safety environment is also one of the success factor of

implementation of OSTC at USA. This is because, off-site manufacturing is not only
provide employees a safe working environment with less risk of injury but also improve
the safety of job site. The implementation of off-site manufacturing are aim to reduce
the impacts on safety such as less trades working on-site and also eliminate the risk
(Jackson S.S., 2013). Off-site manufacturing are able to minimize the risk on site in
term of only required fewer people working on site, less debris or store materials, less
construction traffic and safer installation practise being put into place. For example, for
a construction site with space constraints and public walking by the construction site
all day, by using off-site manufacturing the store materials and the construction traffic
can be reduced. Therefore, improved the safety of people walking in the area. In short,
moving components of the construction off-site is not only improves safety for the
contractors employees and supply chain partners but also for the general public.

In summary, the two main success factors of implementation of OSTC at USA

are improvement of product quality and increased onsite safety performance.

Reference
Azman M.N.A., Ahamad M.S.S., Majid T.A., Hanafi M.H., (2010). The Common
Approach in Off-Site Construction Industry. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied
Sciences, 4(9), 4478-4482.

Ed.D Lu N. & Ph.D Bausman D.C. (2009). Comparative Study on Offsite Construction
Techniques in the U.S. Building Construction.

Jackson S.S. (2013). Off-Site Modular Construction Improves Quality and Safety of
Projects. THE MAGAZINE OF THE ASSOCIATED GENERAL CONTRACTOR OF
AMERICA. Retrieved on February, 28, 2013, from
https://www.constructormagazine.com/off-site-modular-construction-improves-
quality-and-safety-of-projects/

Lu, N. (2007). Investigation of Designers' and General Contractors' Perceptions of

Offsite Construction Techniques in the United States Construction Industry. All
Dissertations. Paper 81.